Partitioning systems commonly comprise interconnectable light-duty panels which are provided with various accessories to extend their usefulness.
Such systems have been in use for many decades, primary applications being the division of office space, the construction of temporary buildings, and the erection of booths at exhibitions.
The state of the art can be assessed by review of partition systems as disclosed in recent U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,905,229 and 6,218,612 B1 to McKitrick et al., 6,009,930 to Jantschek, 6,047,508 to Goodman et al., 6,076,308 to Lyon et al., 6,112,851 to Sugimoto et al., and 6,131,347 to Hornberger et al.
While each system has it's appropriate applications, many systems suffer from serious drawbacks, among which are lack of strength to resist wind forces in exterior applications, difficulties in forming corners, a requirement for too many special parts, awkward assembly procedures, and the inability of profiles to interconnect so as to allow panels to take up either a straight line or perpendicular formation. Many systems require endwise assembly in order to achieve interlocking between adjacent panels, such assembly being tiresome and time consuming.
No prior-art partitioning system relates to the specific requirements of a booth (sukka) intended for use on the Jewish feast of Tabernacles. There exists an active demand for the erection of a roofless temporary dwelling area for one week in the autumn to fulfill the biblical commandment “You shall dwell in booths for seven days . . . ” (Leviticus, 24, 42). The sukka is erected in any available open space such as a courtyard, parking area, open balcony or flat roof. The top of the sukka has an upper framework made of wooden beams, these serving to support light tree branches or a mat woven from a plant or reed. The size of the sukka may vary from a minimum of 70 cm square to an area hundreds of times larger such as a sukka typically erected by a hotel to cater for its guests. Usually the sukka is dismantled after use and is stored in compact form for reuse in the following year.
Being exposed to the elements, the sukka walls need to be capable of resisting whatever wind that can be expected, and in cold climates provide some degree of insulation against the cold.
Bearing in mind these requirements it is clear that a modular construction system is preferable for the construction of a sukka as compared to the more prevalent system of nailing together an assorted collection of wooden boards tarpaulins or even metal sheets.
It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to obviate the disadvantages of prior art partitioning systems and to provide a panel which can be interconnected with a further panel in a straight line or at the perpendicular.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such interconnection by direct edge-to-edge assembly without the inconvenience of endwise assembly.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an embodiment which meets the particular requirements of a sukka of any size.
The present invention achieves the above objects by providing a panel for modular construction of partitions and walled structures, said panel having a top, a bottom, two major surfaces and two minor side surfaces, a first of said side surfaces being provided with a first profile and a second of said side surfaces being provided with a second profile, wherein said first profile and said second profile are provided with means for complementary engagement with a profile of an adjacently-positioned panel, and wherein each of said first profiles is provided with two inter-engagement means arranged at angle of about 90° to each other enabling the alternative inter-engagement of two adjacent panels with an angle of 180° therebetween, and at an angle of about 90° therebetween.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a profile for use in a panel for modular construction of partitions and walled structures, said profile being provided with two inter-engagement means arranged at angles of about 90° to each other enabling the alternative inter-engagement of said profile and the panel to which it is attached with an adjacent panel at an angle of 180° therebetween, and at an angle of about 90° therebetween.
In a most preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided modular system for construction of a sukka including panels as described above, further provided with wooden beams which can be laid in an array over said panels, said beams being supported by the top edges of opposing panels and providing further rigidity to the structure while acting as a support for the sukka roofing material.
Yet further embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter.
It will thus be realized that the novel device of the present invention serves to provide a set of components which can quickly and easily be assembled into a walled structure of any desired size. The profiles described can be assembled into a panel therebetween to hold a board or multiple strips made of plastic, wood, metal, glass, heat insulation or combinations thereof, dependent on the application.
An important application of the present system is for construction of a firm-walled enclosure ideal for use as a sukka. This can be constructed to any required size simply by adding further panels, and after being used for a week or longer can be easily dismantled. Elderly and infirm people have difficulty in constructing a sukka of presently-known types, and the ease of assembly of the system of the present invention will now enable almost anyone to carry out sukka erection without the need for outside help.
Dismantling after use and putting the components into compact storage pending reuse are easily and quickly effected.
It will be realized that while the present invention is primarily concerned with panels and profiles for erecting a sukka structure, the panels of the present invention can also be used for the partitioning of existing buildings, particularly offices and for subdividing areas for fairs and exhibitions.
The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood.
With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.